Wednesday, June 1, 2016

AntenAYE

After a long and well needed 10 hours
of sleep I was excited for the first day of actually exploring London and
seeing what the city held. While it was our second night in London, we attended
one of The Lates at the London Natural History Museum that night, I was first
excited about being able to drink while in the museum (sorry mom) and being able
to be a little kid and make my own pair of antennae and be a beautiful
butterfly. As I wrote this sentence, I just laughed to myself because I just
realized that I wanted to act like an adult but also act like a child ...
AGH!!! I mean, nothing more screams adult hood than a nineteen year old
drinking a mojito and attaching hot pink and royal blue pipe cleaners to
reflect realistic antennae to a
headband, am I right?

I did, however, learn that one of the
easiest ways to tell the difference between a moth and a butterfly is the
differences in the antennae. A butterfly's antennae are shaped almost like a
golf club, they have a long shaft and a distinct bulb at the end. Moth's
antennae resemble closer to a feather and are more saw-edged.

I know we were supposed to focus on
being an outsider while at the museum but I could not make myself feel like I
did not belong there. I tried so hard to listen to people's conversations but I
could not hear a word other people were saying. People in London are a lot more
quiet than people in California. I tried to find things that made me feel
different. It was difficult to go so out of my way to try and find things that
made me uncomfortable and feel like I did not belonged. I was born in
California, grew up in California and have continued my studies in California.
You would think that I would have felt so out of place with having little
diversity in the community where I have spent so much of my life. Additionally,
San Diego State made sure that they warned us with all these stories they told
us before our trip of people leaving two days . I had all these expectations
when I first got to London that I would feel lost. Well, besides actually
getting lost in the airport and somehow ending up fifteen minutes south of Hyde
Park on my first day here, I have yet to feel lost in this big, beautiful city.
Going to The Lates did not make me feel as if I was an outsider. I almost felt
like I was at home because I was able to look at bugs that I saw in California,
look at the tectonic plate that caused the earthquakes that gave me nightmares
as a child and craft like I would for my sorority back at state. Although there
are many aspects of London that are different from San Diego State and my home
time, I am excited to find aspects that make me feel at home.